


New Faces

by River_Nix



Series: Red Marking [3]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Assassins & Hitmen, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Mafia AU, Assassin Ric Grayson, Crime Boss Jason Todd, Dick Grayson is Not Nightwing, Dick and Ric Grayson are twins, Good Friend Roy Harper, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Jason Todd is Red Hood, M/M, Multi, Ric Grayson is a Talon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-31
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-18 09:54:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29116317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/River_Nix/pseuds/River_Nix
Summary: If Talon didn’t know any better, then he’d think he has reason to be afraid.After all, being hired to kill two crime lords of Gotham by their respective colleagues was a bit suspicious. Right?
Relationships: Dick Grayson & Ric Grayson, Dick Grayson/Jason Todd, Dick Grayson/Jason Todd/Ric Grayson, Koriand'r & Jason Todd, Ric Grayson/Jason Todd, Roy Harper & Jason Todd, Roy Harper & Koriand'r & Jason Todd
Series: Red Marking [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2113110
Comments: 6
Kudos: 34





	New Faces

The Red Hood? Really, now? 

Ric was no stranger to getting missions one after the other. Hell, this wasn’t even the worst type of time-filling thing he’s done. That would have to go to an employer from England, who had Ric doing separate missions day-in and day-out until at least half of the continent of Europe was wiped out! In this case, it had been about a month since Mr. Dent had paid him for the murder of the Joker. Pretty generous for time, if anyone else were to look at the gap between events. This though, this still felt a bit fishy. Maybe it was due to his and Richard’s worried discussion of killing three crime lords in Gotham within the span of a year, but that was beside the point. This felt off in a way that Ric wasn’t sure how to handle. He couldn’t say he was panicking, but he also wasn’t feeling as apathetic or confident as he normally did when being called in by a potential employer. 

Richard was, possibly, the only reason that Ric decided to see what this was about instead of succumbing to his growing unease. As he helped Ric adjust the last bits of his uniform, he offered his twin’s shoulder a small squeeze of reassurance: “Try not to kill anyone.” His younger twin was all smiles and encouragement, yet he still slipped Ric one of his own daggers as an extra precaution. It went to show that even the more optimistic of the two could find a reason to feel queasy about this. It was the price that they both paid for continuing the lives that they had for so long, perhaps. Not that Ric could imagine himself or Richard doing anything else, if he was being honest. Aside from the fact that getting set up in college would be a pain - since The Court had erased their identities as a way to keep people from getting suspicious of their disappearances - ordinary jobs had a low chance of providing for them. 

The kills, while dangerous and twisted (depending on who he killed) were what Ric needed as some sort of out - some conclusion. This wasn’t just a job to him, but a way to cope with what’s happened in his life. He needed that freedom to enact the training that had been forced into him and wouldn’t leave. On the other hand, Richard...Richard may have been a bit less...willing to follow his twin’s path. However, that didn’t stop him from arming Ric whenever he needed extra security, patching up wounds, and offering other tamer assistance when the workload got to be a lot. 

“Try not to burn the kitchen down by the time I get back.” Ric positioned himself along the edges of their bedroom window, trying to glare through the eye holes that his mask provided. “If I return and see that you’ve managed to damage another pan, I’m going to ban you from the kitchen. Traps and all.” 

“But Ric!” Richard did his best to whine in a childlike manner, but he was a bit too busy laughing to let it through. He knew Ric wouldn’t actually do that. How would Richard get water or food when the other was out on long missions? He wouldn’t let his baby twin starve, surely! “I promise not to cause any damage. The worst thing that could happen is that I manage to spill something, but that’s easy to clean up!” 

“Yeah, assuming you don’t slip and smash your face into any of the countertops. Then there’s spilled food and blood.” 

Ok, now Ric was just being mean. 

Richard crossed his arms over his chest. “Jerk.” He mumbled, though the word carried an affectionate tone that made it impossibly endearing. 

“Love you too.” Ric chuckled. Before Richard could come up with some witty retort, he leaped out to their neighbors' roof and began his descent into the more populated area of the city. Red Hood territory was on the other side of their neighborhood, but Ric was certain he was fast enough to make the deadline. Besides, it was only 10:30 PM when he was scheduled for 11:00 PM. If he didn’t have to concern himself with people in tall buildings working late or traffic causing extra light, then he’d only take 20 minutes or less. 

_ For once, I hope this isn’t a kill mission.  _ Ric took a great leap to get from one level to the next, grunting when his landing was interrupted by an odd placement of the brick-border for the roof. He doubted that he was being used as a weapon to secretly take out the crime lords of Gotham as Richard had been teasing him about, but he wasn’t about to close his mind to the idea either. He had been killing for, pretty much, his entire life. He learned the ways of the shadows at a young age and was quick to utilize them so he could disappear and leave his enemies arguing amongst themselves about his presence. His symbol may have exposed that he was the perpetrator of thousands of deaths, thus adding to his reputation, but as long as he stayed hidden then that was hardly a consequence. 

Speaking of that, Ric was shocked when Two-Face made no comment towards Penguin and Scarecrow’s death. Or, supposedly, that no one in the crime world of Gotham knew who did them. For crying out loud, he left his symbol right above their bodies and even used their blood as the paint so that it added a creepy effect. It wasn’t like he found some sort of pleasure in the act, or anything, but come on! It was right there! Part of him was a bit insulted that people were questioning his name, but the other part was smacking that insecurity. Not knowing who to point at would work in his favor in the future. He could get his work done here while keeping himself and Richard safe. 

(It was unknown about whether or not they’d have to move again. They didn’t have any reason to right now and it would be wiser to save up since they didn’t get things like retirement plans when they grew old enough to be forced to stop working. Ric made a lot, but between getting his hands-on stuff for missions, their everyday needs, and planning for the future...it was a lot to consider.) 

Ric shook his head to bring himself back into focus. He had arrived at the given location and needed to put effort getting his mind to calm down. It was easy for him to become bored or unfeeling about these types of things, but keeping his thoughts at bay just enough for him to focus could be a chore. Luckily for him, he had some time to get himself together while he snuck around in hopes of finding his guide. The one who contacted him did so through an email as opposed to calling or sending a messenger, so he didn’t have any voices to connect or faces to match up. His best bet would be to do a quick loop around the building and try to find the office that  _ looked  _ like it could belong to the boss. The Red Hood himself. 

It took a while, enough to make Ric a bit late for his meeting - two minutes to be exact - but he finally managed to slip through the correct doors. He was still shutting them when he turned around to take the sights in. The area itself wasn’t anything flashy or extraordinary, but Ric could still appreciate the practicality of it. There were drawers, cabinets, weapons, and other necessities easily within reach from the main desk. Of which sat a man in a crimson helmet, white eye holes carved into the device that seemed to glow like some sort of large firefly. The attire of a brown leather jacket and a grey-black bodysuit wasn’t what Ric was expecting for a crime boss, though he supposed he shouldn’t be judging everyone when he’s only seen Two-Face and the Penguin in suits. Maybe the Joker too, but the colors were tacky. At least this one looked less like an eyesore or a stuck up bastard. He looked like someone who actually went into the field. 

Besides the seated man (undoubtedly the Red Hood) was another one, though he remained standing. The black snapback is the first thing that he noticed, turned backward so that some red-tinted goggles (?) could rest comfortably on the guy’s forehead. His suit was a mixture between black and red, skin-fitting guards seeming to cover his legs. The guards on his arms were oddly shaped, but Ric couldn’t deny that the way that they wrapped around powerful-looking arms seemed to work for the whole aesthetic. Dare Ric say, he may have even found the way that the other guys’ uniform clung to him visually appealing if he was a weaker man. Since he promised himself that he’d get this over with soon so he could return home, he forced himself to move on to anything else he could learn. 

The way the guy’s body leaned towards the desk was a good indicator that he was close to sitting on the corner, taking a casual stance instead of the professional and stoic ones that Ric was used to seeing in bodyguards. It was such a small detail, but positioning and the lack of tension between the two bodies suggested that these two must be more than just a boss and his soldier. Perhaps, a friendship? Ric didn’t have a lot of friends himself to compare it to, but he’s been surrounded by stereotypical crime bosses long enough to notice when there’s distance and when there’s a true bond. 

Overall, the sight that greeted him was a lot more relaxed than he had anticipated, but it was quick to turn on the opposite end when the men present finally acknowledged his presence. The guy with the snapback on immediately straightened up from his previous position, arms at his side and attention solely on Ric. The Red Hood kept his seated self comfortable, though the way he brought his hands up was relieving. At least that way, Ric could ensure that any weapon-pulling would be quicker to see. 

“I’m assuming that you’re the assassin?” 

_ A voice modulator.  _ Those words sounded a bit too robotic and echo-y to come from a normal set of human vocal cords. A bit frustrating, really, since now it meant that Ric didn’t have an original voice to remember for the future.  _ Oh well. Work with what you got.  _

“Correct.” He kept his answer short and to the point while also attempting to keep himself from sounding too cold. Blank was fine. “You are the Red Hood, yes?” 

A nod. “What gave it away, the helmet?” The Red Hood brought a hand to his head, rubbing gloved fingers over the smooth red surface. This would be one of those guys then? Ric could deal with that. Enduring the bad puns and snarky authority were pieces of cake. 

“Partly, yes.” Ric nodded towards the other man. He didn’t know a lot of Red Hood’s gang, mostly because it never crossed with his other operations. He had the basics of hierarchy and a list of things they dealt with, but nothing too detailed. Looking back on it, perhaps he should be kicking himself for making such a rookie mistake. He always tried to learn of the important gangs or crime families in whatever area he had settled in. Seeing as how Gotham was loaded with strange and cruel criminals, it would be suicide to not be informed as an assassin. 

(Ric would have to talk with Richard about how the Red Hood slipped their minds. If they could break through the Joker’s security when it came to information, then they could work into the Red Hood Gang.) 

“Arsenal, I am assuming?” 

This next nod was a bit more hesitant than Red Hood’s. Good to know that he’s managed to intimidate someone so quickly. “Pleased to meet you.” Arsenal bowed his head a bit, but made no motion to continue speaking after that. A shame. While Ric could remember how he sounded from something as simple as a random noise, like a grunt of pain, it would be better if he could get the other talking more in the future. He wouldn’t be associating with these guys too much outside of a business setting, but it was also nice to catalog the people you were working with. Especially those of importance in the hierarchy. 

“Charmed.” Ric nodded his head back as a small show of respect. “What is it you require of me?” 

That pulled an oddly free laugh from Red Hood, though Ric knew better than to let his guard down. If anything, a humored crime lord was even more dangerous than a calm one. At that point, they became unpredictable. They could either be in a good mood or the strain keeping the tranquility of the room was in serious danger and in need of immediate defusing. The only other time that Ric’s gotten someone to laugh like that - instead of the classical dry sound or dark chuckle - was also the same day that he had gotten shot in the shoulder for letting himself get too engrossed in the shock. 

“Right to the point, huh? You know, the one who recommended you mentioned your excellent time management.” Red Hood leaned forward a bit, as if to push himself up into a standing position. It took a few moments, all of which had Ric ready to expose one of his hidden daggers so he could get to cutting. When the Red Hood finally did stand, he looked way too laid back as he walked around the desk and came to the front. The way that he leaned back into it almost made it look like he was trying to sit down, but only had so much room with the edge being so thin. “No need to feel scared here, I have no intention of harming you when you haven’t done anything wrong.” 

Ric had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep himself from  _ tsking  _ at the mere implication that he could be scared. It was never wise to underestimate your opponent, but he had a strong feeling that if he attacked, then he could get away with at least one murder and it would be impossible to track him down. Or, maybe not impossible, but definitely for long enough to get a better back-up plan for him and Richard. 

“Please, feel free to come a bit closer. It feels odd to talk when you’re so far away.” 

_ Your voice projects well enough.  _ “As you will.” Ric nodded his head stiffly, arms clasped at his sides as his feet carried him across the floor. His boots made no such sounds, completely silent as he kept going until he was standing but a few feet away from Red Hood and Arsenal. Neither of them looked impressed with his desire to remain distanced, but they didn’t do anything, so Ric would count that as a good thing. “Is this better?” 

Ric mentally slapped himself. 

Why would he ask that? He didn’t give a damn, he just wanted to know what the Red Hood wanted so he could leave! 

“It’ll do.” Red Hood held his hand out to Arsenal, the faceplate of his helmet still pointed directly at Ric. Not that the other seemed to mind, he just made a small hum of understanding before grabbing something from the desk - behind the Red Hood - and handing it over. It was a manilla folder, so it meant that he was about to be given information. Ric prepared himself for taking mental notes that he’d write down later. “You see, I’ve been having a few problems with an associate of mine and I’m afraid that he’s committed too many offences to be let off easily.” 

This sounded a bit too much like what Two-Face said when he ordered for the Joker’s death. Did the two exchange words or notes on how to conduct this meeting? 

“His name is Oswald Cobblepot, but he goes by Penguin.” A snort type of sound could be heard through the helmet. The Red Hood shook his head in an amused manner. “I genuinely don’t mean to make any jokes when I give you this mission.” 

“Jokes?” Ric was so glad that Red Hood hadn’t noticed how much he had tensed at the name. Of all of the names that the Red Hood had to have problems with, it had to be one of the crime lords he had killed? Sure, he murdered three, but the odds still seemed a bit unfair. How was he gonna explain this? He was always one to bring proof to his employers and he doubted that the Red Hood would immediately take his word for it if he suddenly brought up that the Penguin was dead. Plus, what if this was an informative mission? Old files could be accessed, but Penguin wasn’t the only one who died that day. Were there passwords and fingerprints he needed? 

_ Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit! _

“A Talon going after a Penguin?” The Red Hood almost sounded like he was exaggerating as he tried to pull off some innocent confusion. “You don’t get the bird joke?” 

A pause in thought. 

Oh...ok then...now Ric understood. How...distasteful. 

It left him to wonder what kept Red Hood from confronting him about his designation earlier. From what he understood, most of the major crime lords of Gotham knew who The Court of Owls were and what happened within the inner workings. They had friends just as they had enemies. Because of that, it was always...nice...to learn of any opinions that might keep him from doing his job. Or ones that could potentially place him and Richard in a tough position. 

Ric couldn’t let that bother him now. “I have never been one too invested in jokes, I’m afraid.” He held out his hand to Arsenal, hoping that the other would just give him the folder without too much of a fight. 

To Arsenal’s credit, he only took a few seconds to get permission from Red Hood before handing it over. Inside, various documents filled with numbers of textualized reports flooded Ric’s senses. He could vaguely pick out certain prices that were, supposedly, due and time stamps about meetings. All of the usual. What he was really keeping an eye out as he did his brief scan were any mentions of needing information on possible trading goods. There were some in the older pages, but he couldn’t find any in the time frame of his death. It could either mean that Ric killed him at a good time (how weird was that to say?) or that Red Hood wanted Penguin to tell him everything verbally. Best to find out now. 

“I see here that there are overdue payments and a lack of progress reports.” The date at which they stopped could be identified as four days before Penguin met his demise. If memory served Ric well, which it usually did, then that was also around the time that he was finishing up his mission for Penguin and preparing to deliver the results. Looking back on it, something seemed a bit off with the text compared to what happened. Was Penguin trying to get Ric to help him slither out from under the Red Hood? It would explain why he wanted to keep Talon around after everything was done even if the necessary people were killed while the information was successfully deleted. 

“Good eyes.” Red Hood huffed out. “I was told that you typically don’t like other people butting into your business, but I’m hoping that we can come to a compromise.” 

“Perhaps.” Ric closed the folder so that he could devote all of his attention back. At this rate, it might not be that bad to mention that he killed the Penguin already. He’d probably come up with some sort of excuse as to why it happened instead of just admitting that the other was pushing where he shouldn’t have in the interest of not bringing unnecessary suspicion to him. Nobody liked to hear that a for-hire assassin wasn’t opposed to killing those who hired them. “It depends on what you want and why.” 

Red Hood waved his hand, as if he was dismissing Ric’s concern. Part of him wanted to be annoyed at that, but he would remain calm for now. “Nothing too complicated.” Ric would be the judge of that. “All I request is that you bring him to me before you do anything too gnarly. I have some things that I want to settle with him in person, is all. I won’t bother you with notifications or that type of shit while you’re hunting or killing him.” 

Oh, well…

That was quite inconvenient. One of the rare times that Ric would be willing to make an exception to his privacy preference just had to be with a target that he’d already killed. Which meant that, now, he’d have to come clean. Great. 

“I’m sorry to say that I can’t agree to your wishes.” Ric braced himself for any displeased yelling or the possibility that Red Hood or Arsenal would take a shot at him. “I can get you the information you seek and your money, but Penguin is...unavailable...for any in-person meetings.” 

A few moments of silence passed. The helmet that Red Hood wore prevented Ric from being able to tell if he was shocked or upset, though if he were to hazard a guess, he’d say he must have been both. At the very least, Arsenal looked completely confused as to why Ric had brought that up now. They would both need a few moments to absorb what he had said, it appeared. Not much of a problem. As they worked through that, Ric allowed himself to build up the unease and the frustration until it turned into full-blown adrenaline. The adrenaline that would be used to kill whoever threatened his safety and make a hasty retreat before he was outnumbered. It happened so easily from the many years that he’s practiced slipping in and out of tight situations, so it’s safe to say that it’s second nature by now. 

“Unavailable, you say?” It wasn’t too surprising that it was the Red Hood that recovered first. Ric couldn’t tell with the voice modulator, but if he didn’t know any better, he’d say that the other man was more amused than upset. “And why would that be?” 

_ You know that answer, asshole.  _ There was no way that Red Hood could be so entertained with the idea if he truly had no idea. Also, Ric was a freaking assassin. If he could say that someone wasn’t able to meet in-person, then that was a pretty big hint that he had a hand in silencing them. The Red Hood was playing a game, surely. Mocking him, perhaps? Ric couldn’t tell at this angle. “He crossed some lines he wasn’t supposed to cross.”  _ With me _ . “You’re not the only one who wanted him dead for that.” The safest option, at this point, would be to leave it at that. It needed to be vague enough that Red Hood wouldn’t make any connections. 

“Is that all?” Ric handed the manilla folder back to Arsenal, waving it around a bit when it wasn’t immediately taken. He owed Richard at least ten boxes of his favorite cereal for having the hindsight to save Penguin’s files in case it would be useful for them in the future. Outside of the fact that they could use his financial information, interfering with deals could also work in their favor if the time ever came. Though, first, he needed to finish this meeting without causing any fights. 

“Quick question.” Something told Ric that the  _ answer _ wouldn’t be as quick. “The Joker and now Penguin. How many of us have you killed?” 

Oh boy...if only the Red Hood knew…how much Ric  **_didn’t_ ** want to answer that. 

**Author's Note:**

> I hope that everything still makes sense so far? I’m trying to do that thing where things are revealed as more of the story is revealed instead of vomiting it all out at once. However, that’s interfering with the smoothness a bit - I feel like? 
> 
> Other than that, here’s my [Tumblr](https://river-nix.tumblr.com/) if anyone wants to message me or find my Ko-Fi info, commissions are still open. Or if anyone wants to donate to support me, anything is appreciated. Thanks, everyone!


End file.
